‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎514r] (77/112)

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this country to act as arbitrator in
with the Treaty of 1857."
accordance
The Marquis of Lansdowne to Sir C. Scott.
Foreign Office;
_ _ SolA February 1903.
No. 46.
Secret F„ Juno 1003, Nos. 1-199, Proceeding ‘‘ I received from the Russian Ambassador a
private note, dated the 22nd instant, recurring
to. the question of the Perso-Afghan frontier in
Seistan, respecting which His Excellency had
spoken to me on the previous day, as recorded in
my despatch No. 39 of that date.
“ Count Benekendorff forwarded in this letter a
short unofficial memorandum, of which a copy is
enclosed herewith, setting forth the grounds on
which the Russian Government considered that
they could not dissociate themselves from the
question. His Excellency explained that the com
munication which he had made to me was due to
the apprehensions of the Russian Government
that the status quo established in 1872 might be
endangered by a collision between the Persians
and Afghans, the result of which might easily
exceed the limits of a local dispute, over the use
of the waters of the Helmand, and thus affect the
integrity of Persia to an extent not easy to foresee.
He thought that, from this point of view, there
could be no objection to a friendly and natural
explanation on the subject.
‘' Count Benckendorff added that he had just
received a telegram from St. Petersburg, stating
that there was fresh agitation in Seistan, that a
concentration of Afghan forces was reported, and
that there were rumours of a threatened occupa
tion of the Helmand district, and of Afghan
propaganda, that the Russian Consul found diffi
culty in obtaining supplies and that the works
for the telegraph line from Meshed to Seistan
were obstructed. He had been instructed to call
the attention of His Majesty's Government to
this alarming news. He had, for the moment,
confined himself to telegraphing, in reply, that
His Majesty's Government had received the news
of agitation among the Afghans, and had taken
measures to calm it.
“I saw His Excellency this afternoon, and again
discussed with him the bearing of the correspond
ence to which he had referred me upon the ques
tion which we had been considering.
“ I pointed out that Lord Granville's despatch
of the 17th October 1872 dealt with Afghanistan,
and mentioned specifically those portions of the
Afghan frontiers in which Russia might be con
sidered to be interested, beginning with
Badakshan on the north-east, and ending with the
western frontier between the dependencies of
Herat and those of the Persian frontier of Khora-
san, which were described as ‘ well known.'
“ No mention whatever was made of Seistan, or
of the arbitral award of Sir F. Goldsmid which
had been pronounced two months before, but in
which it was not considered that Russia had any
interest.
“ Prince Gortcfcakow, in his reply of the 7th
December, made no allusion whatever to the
Persian-Afghan frontier, nor was it, in the ensuing
negotiations, discussed between the two Govern
ments.